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that stronger action could be on the horizon. we'll have the latest. challenge comes on the same day as the state of the union address. will it change the president's message? or will jobs still be the centerpiece? we'll break down expectations for tonight. and the world wondering who will succeed pope benedict xvi, developments on when we'll know the name of the next pope. the president made a lot of promises in his state of the union address last year about jobs. did he keep them? we're reviewing the past year and doing a fact check and reality check on job creation. this morning, talking to gordon chang, author of "nuclear showdown." gene sperling, of the national economic coast. bob mcdonnell, and chief washington correspondent jake tapper and the archbishop of washington will be with us as well. a special edition of "starting point," live in washington, d.c., begins right now.

welcome, everybody. north korea producing a nuclear test. the minister says it's a defensive measure against "hostile activity of the united states." and more drastic measures could be on the horizon. the u.n. security council calling an emergency meeting in less than two hours. we begin with jill dougherty live at the state department. jill, good morning. what are we hearing from the white house about this? >> soledad, obviously president obama is condemning this, calling it highly provocative. he issued a statement and said north korea's nuclear weapons and bollistic missile programs constitute a threat to u.s. national security and to international peace and security. and he continued the u.s. remains vigilant in the face of north korean provocations and steadfast in our defense

commitments to allies in the region. obviously ther obvious obviously, there is grave concern. the north koreans are saying they have a different type of weapon, more sophisticated, more powerful. what is happening right now is that the u.s. and international organizations are monitoring what they -- what they can from this test. they are sending the united states, sending planes aloft and what they do, they have sensors on them, and they try to sniff the air in a way and figure out exactly what kind of explosion that was. because there are a couple of different types of explosions, and depending on that, we could find out how much they can do of testing in the future and perhaps create a bomb. soledad. >> jill dougherty, thank you, jill. ahead, we'll talk to gordon chang, author of "nuclear showdown." we'll discuss that, straight

ahead and iran announcing its converting about 20% of enriched uranium to reactor fuel. it's significant, because once converted, uranium can lo number longer be used to make weapons. that still leaves a massive number, but people think u.s. a step in the right direction. don't expect any olive branches from the president as he delivered his state of the union address. the president will point a partisan finger at congressional republicans as he lays out him agenda for immigration reform, climate change. and in the audience, victims of the sandy hook massacre along rocker and gun rights advocate ted nugent. brianna keilar with more on what we can expect. >> mr. speaker, the president of the united states. >> reporter: how times have changed. when he addressed congress one year ago, president obama faced

sagging poll numbers and a tough road to re-election. the result? a state of the union address that contained few new proposals and largely fell flat. not like this will year. >> the party gained seats in both the senate and the house. the american people broadly speaking are with him and so he can deliver a speech without the kinds of political constraintsf. >> reporter: it will book end the president's inaugural speech last month, when he laid out aggressive themes on gun control and immigration and mentioned unexpected subjects. >> none can avoid the raging fires, crippling drought, more powerful storms. our nourn journey is not comple until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone

else under the law. >> reporter: president obama is expected to lay out more specifics, the overall fork husband be the economy and adding jobs for the middle class. that topic got surprisingly little attention in the inaugural address. >> he hasn't given us an idea of whether there is a significant agenda that he wants to pursue, designed to try to accelerate economic growth and economic recovery. that's been the big missing piece all the way through the past year and we'll see whether it's filled in the state of the union. >> to that end, president obama will frame much of the agenda under economic growth. as he talks about tax reform and government spending and his proposals on education, climate change and immigration. but while the wind is at his back, observers say president obama can't appear too bull headed at the start of the second term. this really is a rare chance for president obama to talk directly to the american people in a very long form way and, soledad, from

aides i've spoken with, we are expecting to hear themes are familiar. he'll talk about the middle class, tackling deficit reduction in "a balanced way." not just the spending cuts that republicans are primarily pushing to offset the major across-the-board spending cuts set to kick in next month, but also with tax increases. >> brianna keilar, thank you. a little later this hour, we'll speak with gene sperling of the national economic council and ron john, wisconsin senator, about what we can expect from the president's speech tonight. watch the state of the union address right here on cnn. complete coverage begins at 7:00 p.m. eastern. state of the union, of course, a hot ticket in washington, d.c. who made the short list to get a chance to sit in the first lady's pocket. clint romesha, the army staff sergeant that received the medal of honor for bravery on the battlefield. we'll talk more about him and

the ceo of apple, tim cook. before the state of the union, cook will address the apple investors conference in san francisco. the first lady will also host the parents of hidaya pendleton, she was gunned down days after she performed for the president's inauguration. chicago police have two suspects in custody. one 18-year-old michael ward. the other is 20-year-old kenneth williams. gang members. they told police the shooting of revenge for a gang attack last summer and the chicago honors student was not the intended target. ted rowlands live with more on this story. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, soledad. superintendent gary mccarthy here in chicago said he called the parents of hidaya pendleton who are in washington preparing to watch president obama's state

of the union address and said the parents were relieved to find out that there has been an arrest and people in chicago and across the country who have been following that were relieved as well. what is really heartbreaking about this case is that this was a clear case of mistaken identity and hadiya pendleton had nothing to do with these two gang members who thought they were on a revenge mission. >> michael ward has confessed and indicated that hadiya was not the intended target. in fact, the offenders had it all wrong. they thought the group they shot into included members of a rival gang. instead, a group of upstanding determined kids who, like hadiya, were repulsed by the gang life-style. >> reporter: police were able to solve this by canvassing the neighborhood and getting tips from people in the neighborhood. no witnesses came forward, a disappointment according to chicago police.

a $40,000 reward on the table. and this was a case that was broadcast every day for the last two weeks. hoping somebody would step up to be a key witness. that didn't happen. they are pleased that they were able to make these arrests and got a partial conversion. >> thank you, ted. other stories making news this morning. >> this morning, new information about why pope benedict xvi decided it was time to step down. at a news conference minutes ago, the vatican saying the pope is not suffering from any specific disease. he just doesn't feel he has the strength to continue. and the pope has been thinking about resignation for a year. lots of names mentioned as possibilities to replace him. today, we have an idea of when the new pope will replace him. following developments live from vatican city. what have be learned in the news conference? >> reporter: good morning, john. in fact, father frederico

lombardi is holding the news conference, and providing a few details. not a whole lot new. a few bits of information that are helping us to figure out what is going to happen here in the next few days. one of the things he said is that as you mentioned that there was no specific illness involved in the pope's decision to resign. he did say that the pope had had his pacemaker battery replaced recently. a normal operation, no problems. some of the italian press speculating that perhaps there was a problem with that operation. and another thing that they talked about was the idea that the pope's last general audience will be wednesday, the 27th of february and that will be the last big public audience before he resigned on the 28th, and i -- i'm willing to bet -- this is just speculation on my part, that most of the college of cardinals will want to be here for that. a chance to have a sendoff for the pope, a very public sendoff for the pope and then after the 28th, he will go first to the

papal summer residence and then new details about the monday astery within t y -- monaster vatican where he will take up residence after the summer home. it is where a number of religious figures have retired. it has been remodeled slightly and has a chapel in it. >> so many steps of history-making steps going on at vatican city over the next month and a half. we'll speak with cardinal donald wuerl, named as a possibility of the cardinals that could become the next pope. check out this picture, a lightning bolt struck the dome at the vatican just hours after the pope's announcement. a sign? filthy conditions and a low supply of food on the carnival cruiseship. that ship anded back on land on

thursday. 4,200 people on board will be towed to a port in mobile, alabama. the definition of american hero. clint romesha awarded the medal of honor. he received the highest military honor for defending his outpost in afghanistan against all odds during a taliban attack. he says u.s. a high honor and a heavy burden. >> i stand here with mixed emotions of both joy and sadness. the joy comes from recognition for us doing our jobs as soldiers on distant battlefields. but it's countered by the constant reminder of the loss of our battle buddies. >> somber man. a somber and serious ceremony. but romesha's just adorable son

stole the show with his antics. playing hide and seek with the press. dogs for days, primped pooches strutting to win over judges at the westminster dog show in new york. best in show will be crowned tonight. judges picked winners in four categories, best of sporting, working, and terrier groups coming up today. terriers hope to continue their unfounded dominance at the dog show. >> it's so great. i have never gone in person. >> i have. a lot of times. one of the stories they make you cover again and again and again. ahead this morning, we'll continue to talk about north korea, they say their overnight nuclear test in response to u.s. hostility and that stronger actions could be on the horizon. the question? what is the threat to national security? up next, we'll talk to north korean expert gordon chang. and the navy s.e.a.l. that he killed osama bin laden says the military has turned its back on him. has he been abandoned, that, straight ahead. [ female announcer ] today, jason is here

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welcome back. new overnight. north korea confirming a third successful nuclear test. say it's a defensive measure against the united states for "hostile activity" against their country. the u.n. security council calling an emergency meeting, it will take place less than two hours from now. gordon chen joins us. author of "nuclear showdown." what has been done, 11 times more powerful than what was done in 2009. what does that clearly reveal to you about north korea's access and where they might be going? >> it reveals they have crossed a critical technical threshold. a powerful device, may be miniature. remember, in december, they crossed another threshold, another launch of a three-stage myself i'll. you put these two together, and you can see why north korea is making its a real threat.

u.s. run by a militant, unstable regime. a problem, not just for north korea's neighbors, but the united states as well. >> u.n. security council called a meeting that will take place in less than two hours. what happens in the meeting? what should happen? >> i think what should happen is crippling sanctions on north korea, the security council not willing to do because of china. we can -- people say north korea's been sanctioned out, nothing more we can do. that's not true. in 2005 the united states put on the financial sanctions which hut north korea. we took them off in 2007, so there is a lot more than we can do. >> are you seeing changes in china. very supportive. but here is the -- an article, an editorial that ran in the china state-run newspaper "global times." if north korea insists on a third nuclear test despite attempts to dissuade it, it must pay a heavy price. we are not advocating giving up

the sino/north korea friendship. but pyongyang shouldn't misread china, china won't put its relations with pyongyang above other strategic interests. that's fairly harshly worded. >> it is. a good rhetorical shift. we need china to go for tough sanctions and enforce those sanctions. right now, china has been letting the north koreans sell a lot of missile technology to the iranians, crossing over chinese territory. april 15th last year, in the big military parade in pyongyang, six chinese missile launchers sold to pyongyang. we need to have some important conversations with china, we've not been willing to do that in the past. >> you mentioned iran. quickly, let's talk about that. iran getting access to the opportunities that north korea is creating and being successful

with. what happens there? >> in 2006/2009, iranians on site in north korea for the two previous nuclear tests. north korea sells everything it develops to the irianians, long-range ballistic missiles, nuclear reactors, processed uranium, you name it. this is a joint nuclear weapons development program in tehran and pyongyang. we need to stop those sales. >> gordon chang, nice to have you back. we appreciate it. >> thank you. >> you bet. the president mentioned the word jobs 42 times in the state of the union speech last year. did he keep the promises he made? christine romans will look at whether the president was true to his word or not, coming up next.

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welcome back, everybody. we're coming to you live from washington, d.c., the president will give his state of the union speech. we are joined by -- wait a minute. not yet. nice to have you with us. john berman sticks around with us. the state of the union. very strong today. the central theme for the president in his state of the union address, in fact, all of them, has been jobs, and the job market. and jobs is exactly what we are expecting that we'll hear about tonight. and the past year, the labor market has improved. but 12 million people are still out of work. we want to begin with christine romans who breaks down the president's previous jobs promises. good morning. >> the president in the same address issued the word jobs, 42

times. i ran the text of that speech through the word cloud. this word cloud. shows the weight of all the words in the speech last year. look at how jobs prevails. more weight than anything else except the word america. how has he done? 2 million jobs added. and the unemployment rate 7st%. and this from the press briefing yesterday. >> continue to build on the job creation we've achieved. over 6.1 million jobs created by our businesses, over the past 35 or 36 months. >> all right. fact check on those numbers. true, soledad. the private sector has been claiming jobs for 35 months, adding 6.1 jobs. here is the reality check to the fact check. down more than 3 million jobs since the recession began in december 2007.

in the hole. and the jobs are not the same quality as those lost. look at this study by rutgers university. it found 54% of people who found work, unemployed people who found work, had to do so by settling for lower pay. how much lower pay? 34% took a pay cut up to 10%. 26% took a pay cut of 50%. the president needs to assure that the economy can strengthen. >> it will have to be about jobs, jobs, jobs, exactly what he will say and the spin is what people will be looking forward to. christine, thank you. we'll continue our conversation about the state of the union, coming up with gene sperling. and also washington -- wisconsin senator ron johnson is our guest. he will kill me because i said that. what does it take to be a "sports illustrated" swim suit model. a couple words come to mind. kate upton on the cover of

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welcome, everybody. developing news is what we start with overnight, north korea with a third successful nuclear test. the country's minister said it was a defensive measure regarding hostile activity from the united states and more drastic measures could be on the way. the u.n. security council will meet beginning in about 90 minutes. what can you tell us about the test? >> reporter: well, soledad, would you have to assume that north korea is once step closer to developing a nuclear arsenal and becoming a nuclear state. it did this by certainly conducting this third nuclear test, which is says was a

success. it says that it -- it tested an atomic bomb that was more powerful, smaller, and lighter than previous ones tested, which certainly indicates that they are on the way to creating a -- a miniaturized nuclear war head that will put on a ballistic missile. we know they have the technology to launch this missile. they launched one that put the satellite into orbit. north korea to mainland usa, it has that capability. this is north korea showing the united states it is a force to be reckoned with. it believes by having a nuclear arsenal, it has a nuclear deterrent, it will be able to keep its sworn enemy, the united states, at bay. soledad. >> anna coren, thank you. john berman has a look at other stories making news. >> thank you, soledad. three days after the blizzard,

thousands still trapped in their homes. some cities are beginning return to normal, but others still struggling to dig out from more than three feet of snow. one of them is hamden, connecticut. where many people still can't get out. george howell spoke with one of the people. >> peter curtis waited at the front door. >> i'm going to come over and see if i can talk to you. not the easiest walk. >> watching curiously to see how deep the snow is that's kept him trapped in his home for days. how long have you been stuck in here? >> i went to the store friday morning. you know, got all the stuff i needed. so i've been here since friday. >> i guess i'm your first visitor if i can make it. >> good! >> reporter: a vietnam veteran living here alone, curtis says he isn't able to dig himself out of the snow like a lot of his friends. he takes it all in stride.

>> what you want me to say is i'm -- you know, it's terrible. but i have books i'm reading and -- >> reporter: catching up on reading. >> of course. a book here, a book there. >> reporter: and patience is important according to mayor scott jackson. he says digging out from 40 inches of snow will take weeks. >> we have 240 miles worth of road and right now, about 50% of them are impassable. >> reporter: the city has called in extra crews to operate payloaders that scoop up the snow. most major highways have been cleared and you find people in neighborhoods doing their part. >> my friend lives down the street. his street isn't plowed, i owe him a couple, that's about it. >> reporter: that's what peter curtis is counting on. >> as far as i'm concerned, okay, i hope to get plowed out or get some boy scouts to come and shovel me out today. >> reporter: neighbors helping neighbors to get life in hamden back to normal. so the bottom line, still a lot

of snow out here, a good place for a snowball fight. we're seeing temperatures above freezing, that's great. less black ice on the road. bad news, though, john, more snow in the forecast to add to all the snow that they are trying to get rid of. >> george howell in hamden, connecticut. i'm not getting in a snowball fight with you if you are holding one this big. >> reporter: there's more than that. >> thank you, george. while you were sleeping, hundreds of tips pouring into the los angeles police department in the manhunt for accused cop killer christopher dorner. a $1 million reward for information leading to his arrest. he is accused of killing three people in a revenge plot targeting the lapd. the search in its second week. we're hearing for the first time from the s.e.a.l. team six member who claims to have fire the shots that killed osama bin laden. in an interview with "esquire" magazine, he says he was essentially abandoned by the military after 16 years of

service. the reporter spoke with anderson cooper. >> this navy s.e.a.l. leaves with no pension, no health insurance. >> no health insurance. >> certainly for himself and his family. >> and no protection, which is really one of the big issues, because it's entirely possible his name could come out, and all the s.e.a.l. command told this shooter was, we have a witness protection program that we could institute. it's not there yet. but if you want to drive a beer truck in milwaukee, we can arrange that. cut all your ties to the rest of your family and basically disappear yourself. >> wow. that's a fascinating story. >> it is. and also speaks to how we take care of all of our veterans and service members. but there are some strange things to this story. most people who serve in the military, you have to be in 20 years to get the pension. the fact that he didn't get a pension at 16, not unusual. and also available is medical care. you get five years of medical service. he didn't know or doesn't know.

but you would think now he does and could go get it. >> interesting. keep watching that too. a little more than 13 hours before the president will address joint sessions of congress for the state of the union address. the white house views it as part two to the president's tough aggressive inauguration speech. sources also say he will pivot back to talking about the economy. talking about your money, gene spurling, director of the national economic council and he is at the white house this morning. nice to have you with us, sir. >> appreciate your time. >> thank you for having us this morning. >> jobs, jobs, jobs, what we've heard in terms of what to expect for the speech. give me a more specific preview if you can. >> i think this president has always believed that a strong middle class, not only our goal for economic policy. it's also how we spark the engine of further economics growth. and so you are going to hear him talking about how we make and continue to make the united states the magnet for strong job

creation, for locating jobs that pay well that help families make a middle class living and that will focus on manufacturing, focus on innovation, entrepreneurship, small business, and very importantly, what we have to do to give our young people and current workers the stills they need to fit those jobs. if that doesn't seem like anything terribly new, that's because that has been our guiding light since the first day in office. how we strengthen the middle class. >> if i run a clip of the mashup of all that's been said in the three previous state of the union addresses, let's play a clip of that before we see it on the other side. >> we will restore a sense of fairnessne fairness and balance before finally ending the tax cuts that ship our jobs overseas. time to slash tax breaks that ship our jobs overseas and give tax breaks to companies that create jobs right here in the

united states of america. it is time to stop rewarding businesses that ship jobs overseas and start rewarding companies that create jobs right here in america. >> so he wasn't repeating himself in one previous state of the union address, that's clips from, you know, the three previous state of the union addresses. what's different this time around? >> soledad, this isn't about coming up with new fads like the fr frisbee or hula hoop. it's about what makes us a magnificeet for the strongest j. we can't lose our fork discuss attention. education, training, manufacturing, making sure we're the most innovative, entrepreneurial country are the key things for our future. bringing down the deficit in a way that is balanced and fair. these are things that take time and they are things you want the president to focus on. let's remember, we've gone from losing 800,000 jobs a month to

having seen our private sector create 6 million in the private sector over the last 35 months. so things are getting better, they are not good enough, and he will keep pushing on the economic things that matter to middle class families that strengthen the middle class, that spark our economy. >> what about the sequester? >> we should want a president that has that type of focus. >> what about the sequester? >> three points. number one, we've already cut the deficit by 2$2.5 trillion overwhelming amount is with spending cuts. second point, the president will make clear he supports further bipartisan progress. that he is willing to do tough entitlement reform, but has to be done together with closing loopholes and tax reform that also lowers our deficit and three, that there really are two doors here. people can work with the president in a balanced plan, compromise, are always nobody gets 100% of what they want. and we can take the other door

which we hope they don't. which is what some republicans have suggest. all further debt reduction should be on middle class, training, education, we can't find one single penny from loopholes or revenues from high income americans that is an ideological position, which would lead to sequester, high across the board cuts in defense, education, and what for? simply to ensure that we don't have a single penny on revenues, the president is going to encourage republicans to work with him on going through the other door, which is a balanced, bipartisan plan, which is what the american public would like to see to get our deficits down even lower as part of an overall growth in jobs plan. >> i have a couple of republicans right next to me. thank you, sir. we appreciate your time. let's get right to senator ron johnson, back us with, republican from wisconsin. nice to have you with us. >> good morning. >> let's open it up to what he

said in the three-point plan. the last was about the two doors. sound like a version of my way or the highway. what do you think of what gene sperling was just saying. >> you have to make america an attractive place for business expansion, job creation. you make sure your tax code is streamlined and you actually, you know, try and promote pro-growth tax reform. utilize america's energy resources and reduce the regulatory burden. president obama refuses to put a plan on the table. talk about entitlement reform, listen, those programs are going broke if we don't do something. in the cbo's latest baseline. $9 trillion over the next ten years. of that, $6 trillion is more payments to medicare and social security beneficiaries, that's 70% of that added debt. >> you don't expect him to say this in the state of the union

address tonight. >> we need to see his plan. >> there will be two gop responses? right? i guess if you talk to amy kramer from the responses. she would say two tea party responses. why two gop responses? >> not sure. i wasn't part of that. i'm sure they will be really good responses. >> it's actually very unusual and i do think it shows a splinter within the republican party, have you marco rubio giving the official response and rand paul giving a tea party response. >> i think it's an american response. bottom line is this, americans are tired of speeches about jobs, they want jobs. look them in the eye and say are you worried about your job and the jobs of your children and neighbors? and they say yes? >> you have rand paul and then have you marco rubeiio. >> the line in the sand to avoid the is he quester is revenue.

is more revenue required? or out of the question? as in any package to avoid the sequester? will republicans accept any alternatives to avoid the sequester that does not include more revenue? >> i'll answer first. we know these cuts with the sequester would be very deep, both on the social program side and on the military side. the fact that north korea had this launch, obviously is a very unsettling thing for our country right now. i think the american people want to see a balanced approach and i think the president is pushing it. >> balanced approach meaning revenue? >> absolutely. >> can they accept more revenue as part of any deal? >> let me say this point. sequester was a terrible idea. i voted against it. the president signed it into law. the president has not come forward with a single proposal to stop sequestration. the house did. we passed a budget that would

stop it with what we thought was a balanced approach. >> it's not just -- it's not just sequestration that we're looking at. we're looking at massive cuts that the administration has taken to defense before this, and we don't have the tolerance right now for a bump in the road, whether it's a budget problem or north korea, anything else that happens. we have to get defense change. >> the other matter, we just got 6$650 billion in tax increases, that's that part of the balanced approach. what is the other 96% of the plan to reduce the deficit? >> senator there, are deep cuts mentioned about 2$2.5 trillion. when the sequester was passed, the speaker of the house, john boehner, said he got 98% of everything he wanted out of that bill. this was never meant to be a strategy to cut the deficit, to cut debt. a very swathy way to do things. >> the director of the armed services committee says is he questtation is something the president wanted, the

administration wanted to help raise taxes and use it as a weapon to do that. a terrible weapon to use. >> to go back to the question, from the point of view of house and senate republicans are revenues done? >> he got that part of the balanced approach. and now it's fair for the american people to say, president obama, what is the other part of the balanced approach? deficit reduction. what is the plan for-to-save social security and medicare for future generations. >> we can keep talking with the sxhour five hour and 15 minutes we have left on the program. thank you. when does a shot that falls six feet short of the hoop count? may be the best shot we've every seen, that straight ahead. why not make the day unforgettable?

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welcome back, everybody. a high school basketball player could be changing the game when it comes to buzzer beaters, she sank what could be the best shot ever. jared greenberg joins us with today's bleacher report. >> take some notes before you go off to school. the best way for a high school student to win a popularity contest. anna olson will show you.

nothing like you have ever seen before. late third quarter, needed a miracle, olson off the bounce, olson says you bet you. just like she planned, right? that should lock up the prom queen vote. the high school junior from colorado with the shot of the year, lebron james, your turn. how about blake griffith. a little closer in, dunk of the night from the nba, griffin switches hands and throws it down, and a seven-foot defender fouls him. that's not human. no one in the nba has more dunks this season than griffin and not in this weekend's slam dunk contest. why? can't figure that one out. and the clippers 17 points better than the sixers, good news for philadelphia. the more things change, the more they stay the same. eagles giving michael vick another chance to run the offense. polarizing figure has agreed to restructure his contract with the eagles, potentially forfeiting millions of dollars

if he can reinvent himself this fall, he can cash in when he becomes a free agent a year from now. imagine losing nearly $13 million on christmas. francisco liriano did just that. while attempting to scare his children, yes, scare his children on christmas of all days, liriano broke his nonpitching arm on a door, now won't be able to make his pittsburgh debut until likely may. thus, potentially foregoing millions. what is he doing, francisco liriano? not a smart move at all. for more on that more on that a else happening in the world of sports we encourage to you logon to bleacherreport.com. >> oh my god that poor guy. that's a lot of money. >> mama always said someone is going to lose an eye. >> someone will break an arm and sorry until they don't start until may. >> and their wallet is a lot thin per.

>> they'll lose a lot of money. it was supposed to be a fabulous and relaxing cruise, turned into a nightmare. man whose family is trapped on the cruise ship stuck in the middle of the gulf of mexico straight ahead. here we go. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ [ birds chirping ] [ male announcer ] with the best lineup of vehicles ever, introducing the new chevrolet. ♪

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so people fighting over limited food, smells apparently so disgusting that people are getting sick. these are some of the reports we're hearing from this carnival cruiseship "the triumph" stranded at sea after a fire. it was supposed to be towed to mexico but because of strong currents it's headed toward mobile, alabama, the first of two tugboats arrived monday, the second should arrive this morning and the "triumph" is

supposed to be in mobile thursday so that's a fair distance away if you're stuck on a ship like that. we bring in brent nutt, his wife and sisters-in-law aboard that ship. when was the last time you talked to your wife and what did she tell you about some of the reasons she's experiencing while she's stuck on the ship? >> i spoke with her yesterday about 12:30 and she was pretty broken up i guess. the conditions are getting a little bit better. the ship is not leaning quite as bad as what it was but now i mean, they are able to use restroom facilities, but she said the water pipes on the ship are breaking and that toilets are overflowing and there's feces all over the floor and the horrendous odor that's on the ship. she says that the odor is so bad that people are getting sick and they're throwing up everywhere and stuff so it's not too good.

>> my goodness. so was she afraid when, let me ask you, when the ship isn't tilting as much as it had been, that has to be terrifying. in addition to all of those things breaking down they were leaning over? was she fearful it might just topple? >> yeah, whenever she first called me on sunday evening about 6:30, she was crying and all she could say is that she did not want to die. she said that the ship was leaning pretty bad over to the side and that's all she could think about was they were all going to die. >> i know there's no air conditioning as well. so where are they all sleeping? are they still in the rooms? are they out on the deck? how is that working and are they feeding them? >> well, they're sleeping kind of on the decks, they're sleeping out on their balconies

and all with blankets and stuff trying to make tents and all and everything, just trying to get some air. they said if you're inside of the ship the odor is really, really bad so a lot of people are staying out on the decks and sleeping out on the decks, and as far as food, well, they've been bringing in, they fed -- carnival cruise ships have been bringing food and they're not rationalizing the food and it's first come first serve. the first person in line can eat all the food he wants to and the last person gets whatever is left over and my wife, she only got a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and a bottle of water within like a day and a half and i mean that's not very good details. carnival says they're getting fed and all and everything, but it's very, very minimal. it's just not right.

>> my goodness, sounds terrible. trent, our best to you and your wife and sisters. they're on a girls trip, supposed to be a fun trip for them. supposedly by thursday they come back to land, we'd like to talk to you again and continue to follow this as it unfolds for you to see just what carnival will do for you at the end of the day. we have to take a short break. when the president delivers his state of the union tonight will it show bipartisan promise or attack on the right? governor bob mcdonnell gave the gop in 2010. happening overnight another north korea nuclear test and a big threat made to the united states. we'll share that with you ahead. ? yes! one phillips' colon health probiotic cap each day helps defend against these digestive issues with three strains of good bacteria. live the regular life. phillips'.

a regular guy with an irregular heartbeat. the usual, bob? not today. [ male announcer ] bob has afib: atrial fibrillation not caused by a heart valve problem, a condition that puts him at greater risk for a stroke. [ gps ] turn left. i don't think so. [ male announcer ] for years, bob took warfarin, and made a monthly trip to the clinic to get his blood tested. but not anymore. bob's doctor recommended a different option: once-a-day xarelto®. xarelto® is the first and only once-a-day prescription blood thinner for patients with afib not caused by a heart valve problem, that doesn't require routine blood monitoring. like warfarin, xarelto® is proven effective to reduce the risk of an afib-related stroke. there is limited data on how these drugs compare when warfarin is well managed. no routine blood monitoring means bob can spend his extra time however he likes.

new zealand! xarelto® is just one pill a day, taken with the evening meal. and with no dietary restrictions, bob can eat the healthy foods he likes. do not stop taking xarelto® rivaroxaban without talking to the doctor who prescribes it for you. stopping may increase your risk of having a stroke. get medical help right away if you develop any signs or symptoms of bleeding, like unusual bruising or tingling. you may have a higher risk of bleeding if you take xarelto® with aspirin products, nsaids or blood thinners. talk to your doctor before taking xarelto® if you currently have abnormal bleeding. xarelto® can cause bleeding, which can be serious, and rarely may lead to death. you are likely to bruise more easily on xarelto®, and it may take longer for bleeding to stop. tell your doctors you are taking xarelto® before any planned medical or dental procedures. before starting xarelto®, tell your doctor about any conditions, such as kidney, liver or bleeding problems. ready to change your routine? ask your doctor about once-a-day xarelto®.

for more information including cost support options, call 1-888-xarelto or visit goxarelto.com. sisti welcome, everybody. north korea launching another missile test stating the u.s. is hostile. there are threats are stronger action ahead. in 13 hours the president's going to speak to the nation, it's his state of the union address. going to focus on jobs of course but will we hear anything new? the world wondering who will

succeed pope benedict xvi. this morning developments on when we'll know the name of the next pope. two men in custody in the shooting of the teenaged girl who attended the president's inauguration. was it a tragic mistake? packed show, virginia governor bob mcdonnell, jake tapper will join us and cardinal donald wuerl the archbishop of washington will join us. special edition of "starting point" live from washington, d.c., begins right now. welcome, everybody. our team congressman randy forsh from the state of virginia, roland martin and ron brownstein and john berman. north korea putting the world on edge to a large degree after

performing a third successful nuclear test. u.s. intelligence estimating the blast was several kilotons in size, caused a 5.1 earthquake in the region. the country's minister says the test was a defensive measure against what he calls hostile activity from the united states and more drastic measures could be on the horizon. the u.n. security council called an emergency meeting that will take place in an hour. jill dougherty is live at the state department. what is the u.s. response, jill? >> reporter: first of all they're trying to find out obviously the explosion took place but they want to know what kind of explosion, what kind of material did they use, auranium or plutonium and how big it is. the indications are it was bigger than was expected last night, but president obama, no question, condemning it, that it was a very provocative and he did issue a statement in which he said north korea's nuclear

weapons and ballistic missile programs constitute a threat to u.s. national security and to international peace and security. he went on, the u.s. remains vigilant in the face of north korean provocations and steadfast in our defense commitments to allies in the region. you can bet there is a lot of concern among those allies in the region. as i said they're trying to analyze what it is and also the political significance because after all this evening in the state of the union address, president obama was expected to talk about arms control and how he approaches that issue will be very interesting to watch, how he phrases that. >> no question about that. i think that's what everyone is going to be watching. jill dougherty thank you. in washington, d.c., we're roughly 13 hours away from the president's fourth state of the union address. insiders tell us the president's prepared to strike a more partisan tone when he lays out an agenda for a divided nation.

brianna keilar has a look for us this morning. >> mr. speaker, the president of the united states. >> reporter: how times have changed. when he addressed congress one year ago, president obama faced sagging poll numbers and a tough road to re-election. the result? a state of the union address that contained few new proposals and largely fell flat, not likely this year. >> his party gained seats in both the senate and the house. the american people broadly speaking are with him and so he can deliver a speech without the kinds of political constraints that he faced just 12 months ago. >> reporter: white house officials tell cnn that tonight's address will book end the president's inaugural speech last month, when he laid out aggressive themes on issues of gun control and immigration, and mentioned some unexpected subjects. >> some may still deny the overwhelming judgment of science but none can avoid the devastating impact of raging

fires and crippling drought and more powerful storms. our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law. >> reporter: while president obama is expected to offer more specifics on some of these issues, white house officials say the overall focus of tonight's speech will be the economy, and adding jobs for the middle class. that topic got surprisingly little attention in the inaugural address. >> he hasn't given us an idea whether there is a significant agenda that he wants to pursue, designed to try to accelerate economic growth and economic recovery. that's been the big missing piece through the past year and we'll see whether it's filled in, in the state of the union. >> reporter: to that end, president obama will frame much of his agenda under the umbrella of economic growth as he talks about tax reform and government spending and his proposals on education, climate change and immigration. but while the wind is at his back, observers say president obama can't appear too

bull-headed at the start of his second term. to that point, soledad, there had been a question how aggressive president obama would be on the topic of climate change and it appears he won't be as aggressive as he could be. he will not i am told by a senior administration official be announcing but regulations on carbon emissions for existing power plants. they're a major blut epolluter this is something environmentalists will not look too well on. they will be disappointed the president doesn't go this far. seated in the house chamber will be rock star turned gun rights activist ted nugent, attending as a guest of congressman steve stockman and excited to have a patriot like nugent joins him. he expects nugent will have plenty in response to say to the president on gun control.

jim mcdonnell delivered the gop response to the state of the union in 2010. >> you're upping your game this morning with congressman forbes with virginia. sfl >> he's right here next to me. >> a shout out to him. >> i'm sure the governor meant everybody. >> we'll remember that, governor. >> there's going to be two responses to the presidential, the president's speech, so why do the republicans need two, i guess you would say tea party responses? >> i bet there will be thousands of responses but there's a formal one that marco rubio will give, i got to give it a couple years ago. it's a tough speech to give because the president goes to the well of the u.s. congress with the national audience and fan fair to one guy looking at a camera. marco rubio will distinguish

conservative ideas from liberal ideas and why they work. i think that's going to be the key response. >> there's another one rand spaul giving. why a second one? it's the kind of official official. >> well there will probably be a tea party response and progressive party response and a larouche party response. everybody wants to say what they want to say about the president's remarks, so i think everybody's entitled to say what they want to say but the official response is marco rubio and he'll lay out the republican contrast and vision for america. >> hang on under second governor for me. i want to ask you what it was like when you divvied the sponts. it was interesting. ron, is that true everybody has a response? this seems unusual. >> this is a new tradition that emerged with the tea party response. i'm interested the governor talked about the republican contrast. i would be interested in his thought, clearly the debate in washington is primarily about

debt, deficits and quester. the polling tells us the debate is on jobs and growth. does he see any areas where this president and democratic senate and his republican house are going to be able to work together to try to get the economy moving fatster? any place in where they'll overlap? >> that's really the fundamental question for america today and i pray to god the answer to that is yes because we are a divided nation, soledad, as you said earlier. i think these polls showed it the last election but overwhelmingly people want to hear how is the president going to lay out a vision and plan to work with a republican house to arrest this immoral $17 trillion and growing national debt, and to do something about a nearly 8% unemployment rate that's been that way for three or four years now so that is the fundamental question. i think senator rubio's going to speak a lot about that, the aspirational goals of job and

growth and opportunity, the american dream and why republican policies do a better job but i certainly hope the president will find that done in ground and get us back on a road to prosperity. >> let me ask but the response. can it be tough to talk into a camera. you did it with a live audience. no one remembers your response as being terrible which is saying something. >> that's a real high bar. >> i say that with tremendous respect, sir, but you know what i mean. >> i do. >> is that how marco rubio should do it, live audience, warm things up a little bit? >> everybody's got to see what works for them. i thought looking at that little camera after the president walks out of the congress to thunderous applause that's not a good contrast so we got a great capitol designed by mr. jefferson, delivering it there with a live audience would give

me more energy and a much better contrast but ultimately it's the message, not the ambience that's going to make a difference and why conservative ideas will work and why the progressive ideas haven't worked for the last three years. that's the contrast for may corubio tonight. >> governor thanks for being with us, governor bob mcdonnell from the state of virginia. >> thank you, soledad. >> for the best political coverage keep it here on cnn, live cover annual of the state of the union address will begin at 7:00 p.m. eastern. other stories we're getting to. two alleged gang members will be in a chicago courtroom after police arrested them for killing 15-year-old honor student hadiya pendleton. they are charged with murder and attempted murder. they say the teenagers' death was a tragic mistake. >> michael ward has confessed and indicated that hadiya was not the intended target. in fact, the offenders had it all wrong. they thought the group they shot

into included members of a rival gang. >> just days before her death, hadiya pendleton was in washington performing at president obama's inauguration. tomorrow on "starting point" we'll touk alk to cleopatra blendleton, hadiya's mother. the white house says the president now opposes a plan to increase the rage from 65 to 67 for medicare. he was willing to consider a move in december of 2011 but told no longer willing to consider that but he is still willing to consider lowering medicare cost of living adjustments if republicans will compromise on new tax revenues, that will be controversial with democr democrats. a soggy start to fat tuesday celebrations in new orleans. the national weather service says morning parade goers will get light rain, stronger

thunderstorms in the afternoon. all of southeast louisiana sunday a flood watch. it happens every time of year i'm told "sports illustrated" is out with its swimsuit issues. last night they answered the top ten questions on the application for the swimsuit model. >> number three, genevieve martin. >> are you willing to visit the elderly at his late night talk show? >> me, talking about me, thanks a lot. number two, catherine webb. >> how would brent musburger describe you? >> exactly. >> i'm not sure whether letterman heard a word there. >> i was trying to understand the controversy over the cover. the purpose of the issue is to sell sex. >> i do understand people later, right i've got two girls at home.

do you really need to flog the whole girl breasts cover "sports illustrated"? i know it happens every year and we have the same conversation every year about it. john berman is like i've got nothing to say. >> does this mean like bourbon street itself is also being watered down? >> thank god it is because i was on bourbon street over the weekend and it was really dirty and really required some watering down. >> the watering is happening a little bit more. lots of speculation who will replace pope benedict xvi. coming up cardinal donald wuerl is on the short list of potential replacements to be the new pope. the usual, bob? not today. [ male announcer ] bob has afib: atrial fibrillation not caused by a heart valve problem, a condition that puts him at greater risk for a stroke. [ gps ] turn left.

i don't think so. [ male announcer ] for years, bob took warfarin, and made a monthly trip to the clinic to get his blood tested. but not anymore. bob's doctor recommended a different option: once-a-day xarelto®. xarelto® is the first and only once-a-day prescription blood thinner for patients with afib not caused by a heart valve problem, that doesn't require routine blood monitoring. like warfarin, xarelto® is proven effective to reduce the risk of an afib-related stroke. there is limited data on how these drugs compare when warfarin is well managed. no routine blood monitoring means bob can spend his extra time however he likes. new zealand! xarelto® is just one pill a day, taken with the evening meal. and with no dietary restrictions, bob can eat the healthy foods he likes. do not stop taking xarelto® rivaroxaban without talking to the doctor who prescribes it for you. stopping may increase your risk of having a stroke. get medical help right away if you develop any signs or symptoms of bleeding, like unusual bruising or tingling. you may have a higher risk of bleeding

if you take xarelto® with aspirin products, nsaids or blood thinners. talk to your doctor before taking xarelto® if you currently have abnormal bleeding. xarelto® can cause bleeding, which can be serious, and rarely may lead to death. you are likely to bruise more easily on xarelto®, and it may take longer for bleeding to stop. tell your doctors you are taking xarelto® before any planned medical or dental procedures. before starting xarelto®, tell your doctor about any conditions, such as kidney, liver or bleeding problems. ready to change your routine? ask your doctor about once-a-day xarelto®. for more information including cost support options, call 1-888-xarelto or visit goxarelto.com.

welcome back. new information about why pope benedict xvi decided to resign. the vatican said the pope doesn't feel he has the strength to continue and there's now

already speculation over who is going to replace them. these are some named as potential options, one of the men on the list is his imminence cardinal donald wuerl, voter of the impending conclavely will elect a new soap. nice to have you with us, sir. >> thank you. >> if you're on the short list of successors, what do you think is the reality you could be elected pope? >> i think at this point we're talking about fantasy more than reality. the future i believe as the conclave comes to be the future is going to be directed to who will be a pope who will continue to focus on the spiritual mission of the church. that's at the heart of who we are and pope benedict has done that i think with great success. to try to keep the focus on the gosp gospel, the mission of the gospel. >> to some degree the spiritual

mission of the church seems to also involve a lot of travel and bringing that spiritual message around the globe which to me would say okay, younger, somebody who maybe is in an area where the church is already very revitalized so more like latin american, maybe african, is that who you would be predicting, a person who would be a good selection for pope? >> i think our holy father said that one of the reasons he's resigning is he doesn't have the physical energy any longer to do that. when you realize this world, this age demands presence. it's a ministry of presence, and that means traveling, as you just pointed out. it also means being able to engage. relive in a world of instant communication. >> pope's on twitter. >> so he has to be able to do all of that, and have the physical energy to take that on every day. >> cardinal when thurgood marshall retired as a supreme

court justice he answered the question i'm old, i'm tired, i'm falling apart. shouldn't had pope be praised for saying look, i shouldn't have to die in office. we should have a transition. it should be a matter of the next generation and if i don't have the strength, get somebody who can do it. >> thank you for saying it, because that's exactly what i think is the background of this. this holy father showed a humility and an honesty and a courage. it takes a great deal to be able to say i can't do this anymore, especially when the whole world is looking at you and saying but you have to and he's saying, no, no, i think the courageous thing here is to say i'm worn out. >> what do you think is the focus and the direction of the church? the pope has been absolutely strong in the doctrine and i'm curious to know -- there's been a lot of pressure in the other direction certainly. do you think that things changed? >> i think where we are and where the church always is, is

to take the received teaching. this is what jesus said to us, that's what we keep repeating. we have to find ways of saying so we catch the attention of people today. i deal with an awful lot of young people, young adultsz and they just don't know the message. this is what we believe, we always believed this. this is the message, love one another, be good to one another, build a world of peace and justice and kindness, but to say it in a way we catch people's attention and their hearts. >> i know latinos are very important to the growth of the catholic church in america. >> we're seeing two things, not only a growth from those coming from outside the country but there's a renewal going on inside. right now we have a huge number of young people finding they

never really heard what the catholic church teaches. they're the ones who are a new source of energy and life in the church, in the archdiocese of washington we had to open a new seminary. we have so many young men saying i would like to study for priesthood. >> it would be interesting to see what the impact of the new pope is on those people. people identify with the pope as their coming of age who is elected pope at that time. >> this is one of the things i think we're seeing with so many young adults today. the reason there's a growth in the church coming from within as well as that from without is there are so many people who see, who saw in benedict and blessed john paul ii a voice that really resonates, a challenge, you can live this gospel. it's possible to bring love and truth and peace into the world, and we call it the kingdom of

god, the rest of society calls it a better world. they're the same thing, to bring into this world peace, justice, truth, kindness, compassion, care, and that's what the pope keeps saying over and over and over again. the exciting thing is we have loads of new england people saying you know that's right, i'd like to be a part of that. >> cardinal wuerl, if you are elected pope we would like to have you back, come and join us on the set of the show. >> actually if you're elected pope we'll talk to you there. we don't want to talk to you here. we'll talk to you there. road trip, road trip. trending this morning, i want to tell you for folks who don't want coffee in the morning there's a new mountain dew soda, a drink, why it's already controversial, that's ahead.

(train horn) vo: wherever our trains go, the economy comes to life. norfolk southern. one line, infinite possibilities.

you

. welcome back, everybody. madonna is joining instagram. this is a big day, state of the union and madonna joins instagram, one of her first picture, one where she holds a martini glass, that shows a little cleavage as she makes a toast to her followers, interesting to knowing what madonna is up there, follow her on instagram. >> okay, madonna instagram, shocking. >> again it's trending this morning, people, very low bar for stories that are trending. work with me here.

>> pope, mamadonna. >> state of the union, north korea we have to all get it in. pepsi co. is unveiling a breakfast drink called kickstart, mountain dew, 5% juice, a little caffeine. they say it's not an energy drink like red bull but i guess it's got a little kick start. >> basically all the food groups. fruit juice, mountain dew. >> i don't get it, just wake up. >> i would be happy to transition off of coffee. send me some of that, i'll try it. >> i drink coffee. >> this could be good. >> my wife is a dr. pepper person in the morning. >> that's tough. president obama prepares to deliver his state of the union address tonight. what does he have to say that will make both sides of the aisle happy? is there anything to say?

dana bash and anchor and chief washington correspondent jake tapler talk to us about that. this flvalentine's day instd of chocolate and flowers how about a free divorce? we'll explain, ahead. it's marching to the beat of a different drum. and where beauty meets brains. it's big ideas with smaller footprints. and knowing there's always more in the world to see. it's the all-new lincoln mkz.

♪ (train horn) vo: wherever our trains go, the economy comes to life. norfolk southern. one line, infinite possibilities.

he. welcome back, everybody. you're watching "starting point." the u.n. security council will hold an emergency meeting in roughly half an hour, talking about north korea's new nuclear test that happened overnight. u.s. intelligence is estimating the blast was several kilotons in size, caused a 5.1 earthquake

in the region. north korea says the test was a defensive measure against what he calls "hostile activity" from the united states and that more drastic measures could be on the way. other stories making news, john berman has that. more than 700 tips have pulled into the los angeles police department since the $1 million reward has been offered for information leading to the arrest of accused cop killer christopher dorner. he's accused of killing three people in a revenge plot targeting the lapd. the search is in its second peak. thousands gathered at cowboy stadium yesterday to remember chris kyle, just 38 years old. the united states is under attack by cyber spies, intelligence officials report america is the target of a massive and sustained cyber espionage campaign that's threatening its ability to

compete economically. it singles out china as the country most aggressively seeking to penetrate the computer systems of u.s. institutions. the estimated cost of combating at tacks is in the estimate of tens of billions a year. a sur ban detroit attorney is offering a valentine's day special a free divorce. he got the idea from a woman who invited her to her party celebrating the divorce being finalized. the person with the most compelling story will win, as long as there are no custody issues. >> i like romance and love. >> i like romance and love, and the other 364 days as well. that's that one day for guys to get a pass who have been ignoring their wives or girl

friends or whatever for the rest of the year so that's what it is. >> for the record i like getting chocolates and flowers. >> i set up flowers april 14th. forget that one day. take care of business the rest of the year. president obama stands before congress and the country online. chief congressional correspondent dana bash is on live. you had a chance to sit down with lawmakers to talk about the gridlock in college. >> the ability for the president to get anything done will depend largely on what happens with republican-led house. i did sit down with three members of the class of 2010, the ones who gave republicans that majority two years ago and i asked them whether or not it is a fair criticism, the part of the criticism john boehner's

hands were tied because people like them, rank and file were in. >> some people say you're not to flex on anything, this is what you tame here to do. both sides have to put something on the table in order to govern. that is never easy. >> reporter: do you think it's fair the speaker wanted to go to a compromise on the grand bargain and hasn't been because of you all? >> if you really want to punish him, make him keep being the speaker. >>. >> reporter: if you look at the fact you raised the debt ceiling without spending cuts, is that a sign of understanding the art of

legislating a little bit more, being more sophisticated in the ways of washington? >> it's a sign of recognizing opportunity in the next few months and give the president to reach out a hand and help us fix this country. >> reporter: all three lawmakers say they'll be listening for tonight. this is the beginning of the president's second term but they question whether or not his foe discuss on electing a democratic house than reaching out and getting something done the first two years of his last four years. >> dana, he also talked to them about lincoln. ed what what did they say? >> reporter: today is lincoln's birthday, people may not realize that. the president is entranced and taken back by the "lincoln" movie. i asked their perspective and got a really interesting few answers. the movie "lincoln" the

president quotes and walks around the white house doing it. are there any lessons you can take from that going forward? >> i saw it three times. >> really? >> the biggest quote that resonated with me and did the first time i thaerd was when lincoln was talking about a compass and knowing true north and but what good does it do to know where true north is if it doesn't tell you about the swamps, dez are thes and valleys in between. >> i watched it emotional for me, being from south carolina, having trey gowdy as my senator. i'm proud of him for a lot of reasons but the fact that he represents my state and watching that movie with him was something i'll never forget. >> soledad that was quite a moment in that interview, having

trey gowdy, the congressman from south carolina get so choked up about sitting with his black republican colleague, senator from south carolina who he's clearly close with and very proud of. >> all right, great, dana bash thank you, appreciate it. we want to get to cnn anchor and chief washington correspondent jake dapper -- jake tapper. he's also dapper. you have news for the state of the union this evening. >> according to sources with knowledge of the president's state of the union address president obama tonight will announce by this time next year, 34,000 u.s. troops currently in afghanistan will be back home, reducing the number of troops in that country by roughly a half. president obama will announce 34,000 u.s. troops currently in afghanistan will be back home by

this time yex neanext year. it is a big foreign policy to be made, it's expected to be largely about economic issues and the middle class. >> what do you think, is it going to be partisan or more of an olive branch? >> i don't think it will be either, if i can be so bold as to take something that you're not offering a choice that you're not offering. >> you may take it as always. >> i think he will be assertive. i think he will not perceive, he and the white house will not perceive what he's saying as overtly confrontational. i'm sure it will be interpreted that way. i don't anticipate a big olive branch of a speech. he'll talk about common sense measures republicans have supported in the past and stlu as bipartisan. >> the agenda on immigration, gun control, climate by definition, pre-stage conflict with republicans who are ambivalent at best about moving forward on anything. on the other hand, on the big issue of the debt and deficit,

since the summer of 2011 he has signaled that he is willing to make a big deal, including some elements, maybe less than two years ago that would antagonize democrats so i think jake what you're saying is you can't really put it in one box or the other. there are different strategies on different fronts. >> you have to recognize every time the president says something like that he moves the goal post continually. he's willing to do one thing and once republicans talk about it, he moves it, the two areas that the american people want to hear tonight and i don't think they'll hear it is stop talking about jobs but create jobs. that's what the heart of the americans are but the second is they're concerned about the polarized country we're in and want to see a leader step up to the plate and say something that brings people together. >> you're not hopeful for that? >> i'm hopeful but i don't think we will see it. >> on the jobs front he'll talk about creating middle class

jobs. >> he's not talking about what job creators want, taking some of the regulations and taxes off their backs. >> do you see any opportunity either domestic energy production, infrastructure bank, areas like that, where there may be some agreement? >> i don't think its it's so much for the president. for example tonight i'll be sitting with tim kane, democratic senator from virginia. we have a lot of respect for each other and we'll work for the compromise. i hope the president does that tonight. i'm not optimistic. >> that's y'all's job. the president is clearly the president but when it comes to the changes congress has to pass the law. at some point members of congress have to step up, stop spend so long much time on recess and get to work. >> i'm glad you said that. >> i'm curious about the sequester. >> i don't think he'll get into specific deadlines but talk about how there is a big grand bargain to be achieved but on

the short term, congress needs to take care of avoiding these cuts and avoiding these draconian cuts. >> look at what roland said about congress stepping up and doing their job. the senate has yet to do it and put forward a board of proposal. we can't do the house and the senate's job. >> will the house remain committed to the centerpieces from that budget from 2011 and 2012, converting medicare into a block grant or premium support system? >> i don't think we're going to draw lines in the sand. what you have to do, we passed a budget, then the senate has to pass something. they've refused to do it. >> we'll see what the president has to say this evening. jake tapper nice to have you, appreciate it, and the rest of the cnn team. 7:00 p.m. tonight for the full coverage of the president's state of the union address. less than two months ago the country almost went off the fiscal cliff, how did we get so close to the brink? the new documentary is called

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>> and at one meeting the president's chief of staff thought cantor went too far. >> there was a time where he kind of jumped in to correct the president and with a tone that was a little disrespectful of the president and the president took great umbrage. >> the president says this isn't a bluff, don't call my bluff and literally walks out, and this is a bit of a thunderclap for everyone to say the least. and its eight frightening. >> this is a look at the debt ceiling debate in 2011. it's interesting to watch parts of the documentary. you realize some of it is the scary music you put behind it. how much was at stake in here? take us back to the negotiations, were you able to figure out really at the end of the day who was at fault in this? >> when you look at the clash of personalities and the people who were involved, boehner, cantor, the 87 new republicans, sort of

unruly, new republicans, unorthodox new republicans and the president who had taken a real beating in the first two years of his presidency, then a shellacking at the midterm you realize that they all came to the table with certain grudges and certain assumptions about the way things were going to work and they were not speaking the same language. >> hmm. much of what you look at are personalities, kind of outsized personalities. walk us through some of the personalities behind the new stories that we all covered. >> well you look at cantor, eric cantor,'s a fascinating character, one of the young guns, raises that new class, helps them get elected, thinks he can, with the idea of using the debt ceiling as a lever, a hes original for the president, he thinks he controls them. you've got boehner, who is his sort of boss but they're rivals behind the scenes, their staffs really don't like each other.

boehner is more of a country club republican as obama describes him a deal maker, and you've got those two personalities, boehner doesn't know how to handle that class and obama, who is not sure about his own party, where they stand, where pelosi stands on the things he might have to give up to get a grand bargain. boehner and obama meeting in secret in the famous secret sessions at the white house and you put that all together and it's a fabulous witches' brew for failure especially once biden, the vice president accidentally maybe drops on eric cantor the idea that the president is meeting secretly with his boss. >> the movie is called "cliffhang

"cliffhanger" thanks for joining us to talk about it. we appreciate it. >> you're welcome. housing prices are rising but doesn't mean the market is getting better. you're watching "starting point." we're back in a moment. [ woman ] my boyfriend and i were going on vacation, so i used my citi thankyou card to pick up some accessories. a new belt. some nylons. and what girl wouldn't need new shoes? and with all the points i've been earning, i was able to get us a flight to our favorite climbing spot even on a holiday weekend. ♪ things are definitely looking up.

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i'm christine romans minding your business this morning. stock futures are up slightly but news of north korea's new nuclear test could cause investors to stay cautious. we're below record highs in stocks but they are up 7% so far this year. gas prices up according to aaa a gallon costs an average of $3.60, up 31 cents or 9% in the last 26 days. the national association of realtors says home prices in the fourth quarter rose 10% compared with the year before, that's the biggest jump in seven years, and the gains in home prices are widespread, 133 of 152 cities are seeing price increases. apple's ceo tim cook has a coveted spot at the state of the union, he'll be sitting with first lady michelle obama in special box seats. this isn't the first time the first lady's guest list has

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we end as always with "end point." you want to start us off, ron? >> eight years of tax cuts and deregulation under president bush, four years of public investment and stimulus under president obama. the median income is lower than 2000, the worst record of job growth since the depletion. many americans doubt either party has an answer and they are right to wonder.